West Lawn had its ace available for Monday’s game and Ben Kulp went the distance. The West Chester commit allowed four runs, all unearned, on six hits. He struck out six and walked two over seven innings. “He doesn’t let anything bother him. He’s a very calm pitcher. If he walks somebody, it’s not a big deal. He regroups and he makes quality pitches when he needs to make quality pitches,” explained Spatz. Kulp also helped himself by going 3-for-5 and driving in a run. He was an All-State pick for Wilson this spring. All nine batters in the Owls’ lineup had at least one hit. Alex Ernesto and Zach Troutman each finished with a pair of singles. Tyler Herbein went 1-for-1 with three walks. The catcher had 2 RBI.

Kulp got West Lawn on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first with a RBI double to right-center. An error on a grounder to second base made it 2-0. The (21-5) Owls doubled their lead in the second inning. Aiden Incledon’s ground ball got past the third baseman allowing two runs to score with two outs. West Lawn went in front 5-0 in the third thanks to Herbein’s bloop RBI single to center.

The Owls blew it open with five runs on three hits and an error in the fourth. Ernesto’s line drive single to center made it 6-0. Alex Frantz grounded out to shortstop to add another run. Ernesto scored on a double steal for a 8-0 advantage. Cole Sensenig followed with a RBI single through the left side. That ended the day for Reading pitcher David Garcia. He was charged with ten runs, four earned, on nine hits. Garcia had two strikeouts and three walks in 3.2 innings. Frandy Ruiz took over on the mound and gave up a RBI single to Jack Gabel which put West Lawn on top 10-0.

The Groundhogs took advantage of a dropped fly ball in shallow left field to score four runs in the fifth. Victor Mejia provided a two-run double on a long fly ball to left-center. Janser Paredes ripped a two-run single to left that got Reading within 10-4. All four runs came with two outs. Mejia and Paredes each went 2-for-3. Paredes, an East Stroudsburg commit, was a two-time All-State selection for Reading High. Herbein walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth to give the Owls a 11-4 lead. Ruiz gave up one run on three hits and four walks in 1.1 innings.

The Groundhogs’ season came to an end, while West Lawn improved to (5-0) in the double-elimination tournament. The Owls allowed a total of just seven runs. They shut out Shillington 1-0 on Thursday and blanked Boyertown 3-0 on Saturday. West Lawn defeated Norchester 7-2 on Sunday. The Owls advanced to the Region 2 tournament which begins Friday at Quakertown. “It’s gonna be a tough regional…it’s all about executing. It’s all about making pitches, playing defense, and timely hitting. I’m excited for our team. I think the expectations are high,” said Spatz.